Moscow has called on the regime of Muammar Gaddafi to stop killing civilians and observe the UN mandate in Libya. However, envoys sent by Gaddafi to Moscow say they will meet the terms when NATO stops its bombing campaign.
Moscow demanded that Tripoli stop the bloodshed in the country and fully observe the UN resolutions, which prohibit the use of force against peaceful civilians. Following the meeting with Gaddafi’s envoys in Moscow, the Russian Foreign Minister said that the Russian side is satisfied with the Libyan reaction to the demand. “The answer which we received cannot be considered negative,” Sergey Lavrov said. “We have been told that Tripoli is ready to consider approaches based on the African Union’s roadmap and ready to fully fulfill the conditions of the [UN] Resolution 1973.” Lavrov added that Tripoli, in turn, wants rebels to undertake similar steps and NATO to stop bombardments. The minister also said that Russia supports the UN’s line in persuading all sides of the conflict to stop fire and conclude a ceasefire agreement. “If this happens, there will not be any reasons for NATO aviation to continue bombardments, which goes far beyond the goals, sanctioned by the resolutions of UN Security Council,” he said.Sergey Lavrov also said that Moscow is calling on Tripoli to secure the arrival of humanitarian aid to the Libyan territory. Earlier Russia supported the initiative put forward by the UN humanitarian representative on announcing pause in military actions in Libya in order to bring aid to the country’s civilian population.Representatives of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime arrived in Moscow on Tuesday to hold talks with the Russian side on the situation in Libya. Representatives of rebels were due to arrive on Wednesday, but said that they had to postpone the meeting due to technical reasons.The Russian FM said that he hoped representatives of the Libyan opposition forces would visit Russia in the near future. In the latest development in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, NATO air-strikes have reportedly caused fires at a security services building and the headquarters of the country's anti-corruption agency. According to Libyan officials, the coalition was trying to destroy files linked to corruption cases against the rebel leadership.The two buildings are close to the residence of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, which has been a constant target of NATO bombs.Dr. Adrian Pabst, a politics lecturer at Britain's University of Kent, does not think that a ceasefire agreement can be reached in Libya.“We have not seen enough evidence that the Gaddafi regime is prepared to lay down its weapons and stop its own campaign. For the moment, Gaddafi’s regime lacks credibility. It is hard to see how it will come about. With more pressure, though, from countries like Russia, on the Gaddafi regime, perhaps things will be able to move in that direction,” says Pabst.Pabst also believes that the West lacks intelligence to perform a proper military campaign in the North African country.